William A Freeman Memorial Lecture 2009
The Center had its first William A Freeman memorial lecture on Thursday April 30th in honor of Mr. William A Freeman, a 1957 graduate of Georgia Southern University and keen supporter of the University who endowed the William A Freeman Chair in Free Enterprise, the Freeman scholarships and COBA’s Professor of the Year Award. We welcomed back alumnus Ric Tomlinson (’73 BBA), president and CEO of Univest Investments Inc., who delivered the lecture titled “Entrepreneurial Leadership Through Stormy Waters” in the Assembly Hall at Nessmith-Lane Building.
We also welcomed back former Dean Carl Gooding who introduced Ric to the audience and provided insights about his friend and mentor, Bill Freeman. We were also honored to host Lee Freeman, one of Bill’s sons, at the event. We had an excellent turn out from students and faculty who came to listen to Ric while he offered some great insights into the development of his company. Ric shared parts of his life story and provided answers to a hypothetical question he posed “What resources do you need to navigate through stormy waters”. He argued that we are in the midst of a financial “hurricane” and to survive, we must have the following: a plan, a vision, charts (to guide us), a GPS system (to make sure we don’t get lost), and a contingency plan. We are very grateful to Ric for such excellent insights and we know the students gained a great deal from the lecture.
Posted in Events, Guest Speakers